


Without Golden Wand Or Mystic Charms

by FanDreams01



Series: Godly Wars and Those Dragged Into Them [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angst, Consensual Possession, Cults, Dragon Iwaizumi Hajime, Hurt Oikawa Tooru, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Possessive Iwaizumi Hajime, Protective Iwaizumi Hajime, no beta we die like daichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanDreams01/pseuds/FanDreams01
Summary: Oikawa was defective.In a world where the mystic - from krakens to pixies - were common it was just as common to be ordinary. But not like Oikawa was.Born to two extremely powerful mages on the magic council, Oikawa should have excelled in magic, should have radiated it. Instead he couldn’t even use the simplest of spells.~~~Oikawa can't do magic despite his heritage. At least it comes in handy when a cult obsessed with magic comes to town... or does it?
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Godly Wars and Those Dragged Into Them [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928023
Comments: 6
Kudos: 141





	1. All I Ever Wanted To Be...

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [forever is a long time, but i wouldn't mind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479059) by [Magepaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magepaw/pseuds/Magepaw). 



> Work title from the song "It's Magic" by Doris Day.  
> Chapter Title from the song "Austronaut" by Port Cities  
> This takes place in a fantasy world and not Japan, but Oikawa seriously isn’t Oikawa if he doesn’t use honorifics - the author of the fic that inspired this one wasn’t wrong about that.

Oikawa was defective.

In a world where the mystic - from krakens to pixies - were common it was just as common to be ordinary. But not like Oikawa was. 

Born to two extremely powerful mages on the magic council, Oikawa should have excelled in magic, should have radiated it. Instead he couldn’t even use the simplest of spells.

When Oikawa was young, no one thought anything of it. Children often didn’t exhibit any signs of magic until they were older, unless they were of Belluic descent - descended from mystical creatures. Like Iwaizumi.

~~~

Oikawa had known Iwaizumi since they were kids. Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s families were neighbors and so the two boys often found themselves stuck with each other.

Oikawa first met Iwaizumi when he was out in the garden collecting magical plants and herbs for his mom and dad. “You’re never too young to start learning Tooru, Satsuki. You’ll need to be able to identify these immediately one day.” His mom would always say when he or his older sister would start complaining.

He had been searching for wolf’s bane when he heard a loud yell from the other side of the fence that surrounded the backyard of his family’s home. Despite their high status, Oikawa’s parents insisted on living in one of the more rural parts of the capitol city, stating that it would be better for Oikawa to be raised away from most of the commotion that came with having celebrity parents, as well as stating that they didn’t think the inner parts of the capitol were safe to raise a child in.

Oikawa paused mid-step and peered at the fence curiously, watching as a toy soldier came flying over.

“Daiki!” A voice shouted from the other side of the fence followed by a loud laugh - one that definitely couldn’t have come from the original voice; it was too deep.

Oikawa set down the basket he was holding, careful to make sure none of the plants inside moved around. Some of them wouldn’t react well when next to each other and had to be separated by other plants. He walked over to the fence and crouched down to look at the toy soldier that had flown over the fence. The paint was chipped and the plastic looked chewed at in some places, Oikawa wrinkled his nose a little as he noticed that.

Oikawa picked up the toy soldier carefully, knowing that if it was one of his toys he wouldn’t want anyone to damage it, and then started making his way to the gate at the side of the house, intending to go over and return it to his neighbors.

He was met with a boy his age when he opened the gate. A boy with wings. They were big and scaly. Black didn’t seem like the correct color to describe them; they were like an inky night sky.

“What are you doing with that?” The boy’s voice snapped Oikawa’s attention away from the boy’s wings and to his face. The boy glowered down at the hand Oikawa clutched the toy soldier in.

“Oh, is this yours?” Oikawa asked, holding the toy out.

The boy nodded sharply and snatched the toy, examining it carefully to check for damage. Then he glared at Oikawa and snapped, “Don’t touch my stuff.”

Oikawa blinked in shock. “I was just trying to return it. You don’t need to be mean.” He told the boy with a pout and a glower of his own, though Oikawa had more baby fat than the other so he didn’t think it came off nearly as intimidating.

“Yeah, well you shouldn’t touch stuff that doesn’t belong to you!” The other boy retorted.

“Well it ended up on my side of the fence, maybe you should take better care of your stuff!” 

The boy growled and suddenly lashed out at Oikawa, leaving scratches on his arm from sharp nails Oikawa hadn’t noticed earlier. Oikawa stumbled back with a small cry of pain and clutched at his arm. Looking down, he noticed blood.

The boy’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised by himself. “Shit! - shit, I’m not supposed to say that. Hey I’m -”

Oikawa cut the boy off by slamming the gate door closed and screaming, “Go away!”

~~~

Later that night, when Oikawa’s wound had been patched up by his mom and they were having dinner there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Satsuki said and stood up to go answer it. A minute later she returned. “It’s the neighbors. They said they wanted to talk to you, papa and Tooru, mama.”

Oikawa’s mom stood up and headed for the door, Oikawa’s dad was in the inner part of the capitol for work that night. Oikawa followed after her slowly, thinking back to his encounter with the boy earlier that day.

When Oikawa reached the front door his mom was already talking to the neighbors, and the boy was positioned in between the other two adults. 

“Again, we’re so sorry about Hajime. He’s still learning to control his instincts.” The boy’s father apologized.

Oikawa’s mom waved a hand dismissively. “It’s alright, it’s nothing serious. A day with some healing cream on it and it’ll be all healed up.”

“Mom?’Oikawa asked, not quite sure why he was here and wanting to be as far away from the boy as soon as possible. 

The neighbors looked down at the boy and the boy’s mom prompted, “Hajime, don’t you have something to say to Tooru?”

The boy looked down at his feet before saying. “‘M sorry about scratching you earlier… but you really shouldn’t touch other people’s stuff.”

Oikawa gaped, that was probably the worst apology he’d ever heard in his young life. 

“Hajime,” The boy’s dad warned, deep purple wings flaring a little behind him and the boy shrinked in on himself a little and mumbled something under his breath.

Oikawa sighed, he already knew that that was the best he was going to get from the other boy and his parents had always taught him to be forgiving and kind to people. “It’s fine.” He spoke up, he paused for a minute before declaring, “but you have to help me in the garden tomorrow to make up for it!”

The boy looked up in shock. “What? That’s not fair!”

His parents stopped him with a hand on his shoulder each. “That’s alright with us. Hajime, you don’t have anything to do tomorrow anyway.”

The boy clearly wanted to argue more but relented with a scowl and crossed arms.

Oikawa grinned. “Alright then. See you tomorrow Hajime!”

He bounded back to the dining room to finish his dinner giggling at the indigent “Don’t call me that!” The other boy shouted after him.

He didn’t know that a statement made from a childish want to not do as much work would lead to the creation of a bond that would define him for the rest of his life.

~~~

Oikawa was already at work in the garden when he heard a knock at the gate. He dusted off his hands of the dirt clinging to them and opened the gate to see the boy standing there, hands dug deep into the pockets of his shorts.

“Hey Hajime!” Oikawa greeted cheerfully.

He scowled. “Don’t call me that. Call me Iwaizumi.”

Oikawa thought for a moment. “Iwa-chan it is then!”

“It’s Iwaizumi!” Iwaizumi shouted at his back as Oikawa turned back to the garden. Iwaizumi followed grudgingly.

“So, my mom wants us to do some weeding and also to collect the plants on this list.” Oikawa pointed to a piece of paper he’d put on a small table on the back porch.

Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi, his gaze flicking to the boy’s wings. “Are you a demon?” He blurted.

Iwaizumi spluttered. “Wha- No! I’m a dragon!” 

Oikawa nodded. “Okay, in that case you don’t need to worry about any plants, I think. Some of these plants are dangerous to demons and other more dark magic based creatures so I wanted to make sure.”

Iwaizumi blinked at the boy’s thought. “Oh, well… thanks for checking, I guess. But don’t just ask people if they’re a demon!” He threw a punch at Oikawa’s arm and the other boy laughed.

“Sorry Iwa-chan!”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I think you owe it to me.” Oikawa lifted the arm that his mother had re-bandaged that morning and put healing cream on.

Iwaizumi groaned. “Fine, but I don’t owe you anything else after this!” 

Oikawa nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s get started,”

The two began to garden and spent most of the morning completing the tasks Oikawa’s mom had given and argued about stupid things.

“So you’re a mage right?” Iwaizumi asked at one point.

Oikawa perked up. “Yeah! Well, not yet, I guess. Mom and dad say I’m gonna get my magic when I get older! I’m gonna be the most powerful mage there is, just you wait Iwa-chan! When I’m head of the magic council you’ll be able to say you knew someone super cool.”

Iwaizumi snorted. “Yeah right. I don’t think I’d wanna say I knew you.”

“Why not?” Oikawa squawked.

“You’re a drama queen.”

“Mean Iwa-chan!”

Eventually Oikawa’s mother called them in for lunch and the boys ate before going back to work. Once they were done the two sat on the edge of the porch.

“This was kind of fun, right Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi wrinkled his nose. “I guess. The plants smell strong though.”

“What do you mean?” Oikawa tilted his head curiously.

“Dragon’s have a strong sense of smell. These plants are really strong… so are you, you smell just like ‘em.”

“Did you just call me smelly? Mean Iwa-chan!” 

Iwaizumi scoffed. “Yeah well, next time we hang out lets go somewhere other than your garden.”

Oikawa blinked at the boy. “Next time?”

Iwaizumi tensed, seeming to realize what he said and he shuffled nervously. “Y-yeah. I mean, if you wanna hang out again… um… Trashykawa!”

“Ah? Even your nicknames are insulting Iwa-chan!” Oikawa complained.

“Shut up!” Iwaizumi snapped and looked away.

Oikawa snickered. “Sure, we can hang out again Iwa-chan. I might just need a big brute like you around until I get my magic. I’m delicate you know.” He raised his injured arm again, as if to prove his point.

Iwaizumi glared at him. “You’re on your own, Trashykawa.”

“Hajime! It’s dinner!” A voice called from over the fence.

Iwaizumi jumped down from the porch and waved at Tooru as he left. “See you tomorrow.”

Oikawa smiled. “Bye Iwa-chan!”

~~~

The two boys continued to hang out, often times they would work in Oikawa’s parents’ garden or explore the woods on the outskirts of the neighborhood. They rarely ever went into other of their houses as both Satsuki and Daiki - Iwaizumi’s older brother - liked to annoy them when they did.

Soon enough they were closer than any of their parents could have expected, though their dynamic never shifted. 

Things started to change when school started.

~~~

Oikawa learned he was defective when he was 10. 

Every other mage child had started performing basic magic except for him, and many had even advanced in their spell capabilities quickly.

His family remained hopeful, and his teachers tried to encourage him; Overall Oikawa wasn’t too worried about it at first. Even when Iwaizumi started acting out of his usually and stuck closer to Oikawa then before, glaring at people who looked at Oikawa weirdly.

Then he overheard the conversation.

His teacher had sent him to get supplies from the basement and his route led him past a conference room.

“I’m worried,” Oikawa immoderately recognized his mom’s voice and paused, wondering why she was here. He wasn’t supposed to be picked up. “He hasn’t started showing any signs?”

“I’m afraid not.” That was Mr. Kirkland, Oikawa’s spell teacher (the class was mandatory for children of mages, whether they’d presented with magic or not.)

“He could just be a late bloomer. I was,” Oikawa’s mom pointed out hopefully.

Mr. Kirkland sighed. “I’m afraid not, even you had presented magic at this age Mrs. Oikawa. I think it’s time you accepted it and told the boy. He doesn’t have magic. He’s defective.”

Oikawa stumbles back, letting out a small squeak as his back hit the wall behind him.

He felt like the world was tilting around him and he couldn’t breathe. He turned tail and ran before he could hear anything else.

Forgetting about the basement and his class, Oikawa wandered the school, making his way to the back corner of the library where he finally broke.

He curled up in a tight ball on the floor and started to cry. They had to be wrong. They had to be! He… he could do magic. He would do magic!

Except… most mages showed signs of magic by the age of 6, at latest 8. None of his teachers ever said anything, but Oikawa saw them looking at him with pity sometimes.

His family tried to encourage him, but Oikawa had seen the energy dwindle recently, had seen them slowly back off the topic of magic around him. And… and Iwaizumi acted like he was guarding him, protecting him from something.

It seemed everyone knew the truth before he did.

Oikawa Tooru was defective.

The thought made Oikawa sob harder, trying to gulp deep breaths of air in. He didn’t know how long he stayed there before a pair of footsteps approached and familiar wings wrapped around him in an attempt to comfort.

Oikawa allowed himself to be dragged toward his best friend’s chest, where he gripped Iwaizumi’s shirt, allowing the other to run his back and use his wings to shield them from the world.

It wasn’t a position they often found themselves in. It had only happened once or twice before. Once, it had been Iwaizumi who’d needed the comfort of knowing Oikawa was there after sneaking over because of a nightmare. Oikawa never did get the full story on it later.

Iwaizumi said nothing as Oikawa sobbed and sniffles, getting snot and tears on his shirt.

Eventually Oikawa calmed down enough to speak.

“What happened?” Iwaizumi asked. “You never came back to class.”

“I… Iwa— Iwa-chan… I…” Oikawa struggled to explain, to articulate what had upset him.

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi spoke firmly but softly. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Iwa-Chan I’m… I’m defective! I’m broken!” Oikawa choked out, breaking into more sobs.

Iwaizumi’s grip tightened and he wondered what had happened. How had Oikawa found out? He’d known for a while now, or at least suspected Oikawa couldn’t do magic but he couldn’t bring himself to be the one to crush the light in his best friend’s eyes. Though, nor did he want others to do it.

It hurt to see Oikawa cry like he was and the primal, draconic instincts in Iwaizumi wanted to tear the person who told Oikawa limb from limb.

“Hey,” he said, trying to get Oikawa’s attention. “Hey, Tooru. Tooru.”

The other boy looked at him and Iwaizumi spoke his next words confidently.

“You’re not broken, or defective or whatever other crap you heard. You don’t need magic to be awesome.”

Oikawa sniffled. “But...Iwa-chan…”

“No. No ‘but’s. You’re just fine without magic, and you're still my best friend. Besides, you’re smart. I bet you could learn everything in this place if you wanted to. That would come in handle when you get on the council.” 

Iwaizumi ignored the part of himself that told him he shouldn’t give Oikawa hope about the council when in all it’s history only mystical beings had held a seat.

Oikawa sniffled and peered our of Iwaizumi’s protective wing cacoon to the millions of books on the shelves surrounding them. “Yeah,” he muttered, “I bet they are pretty helpful.”

There was still sorrow in his voice, but he wasn’t going to break down and Iwaizumi allowed himself to relax a bit at being able to do that much.

The two sat together in companionable silence for a while more.

“Iwa-Chan admitted I’m awesome~!” Oikawa finally broke it in a sing-song voice still a little hoarse from his crying.

Iwaizumi flushed, “I did not! And come on, we’ve probably missed half of the school day! You’ll never make the council if you skip!”

~~~

They fell into a new routine after that. During school they would attend classes and eat lunch in the library where Oikawa would pour over books on all kinds of myths and magic creatures, Belluic and non-Belluic. 

On the weekends they would do what they usually did, hangout in the Oikawa garden or explore. Though Iwaizumi did find himself having to drag Oikawa out of the town library often, the time getting increasingly later as they grew older.

And if Iwaizumi ever noticed the various spell books that would find their way into Oikawa’s reading, he never said anything.


	2. I'm Turning Into A Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Monster by Beth Crowley

“Thanks for the help, Oikawa.” Eridy spoke shyly, tucking the ointment for scale rash Oikawa had just given her into her bag.

Oikawa waved a dismissive hand. “No problem Eridy. Staying out of water for extended periods of time does horrors to a mermaid’s skin. That ointment should help, it’s made from kraken slime, ocean essence, and sunflower petals. It’s easy to make, but if you need help making more let me know.”

Eridy nodded in thanks again before heading to her class and Oikawa sighed once she was out of sight, rubbing the back of his neck in the hope of relieving some of the tension there. Ever since reaching the high school years, it seemed his classmates had learned of his studying tendencies and had begun to come to him for advice and help after he’d proved knowledgeable.

He hadn’t minded at first, he’d enjoyed being viewed as something other than broken or like porcelain, like everyone had treated him in middle school years. He’d enjoyed being useful. Now, it was just tiresome, but he found he couldn’t refuse when people came to him for help.

Iwaizumi told him he was basically asking for it. “You’re gonna have to deal with this when you’re on the council Shittykawa, if you can’t do it now you won’t be able to do it later.”

Oikawa had sighed dramatically before flopping on Iwaizumi’s bed, careful to avoid the objects of Iwaizumi’s Dragon Hoard scattered on it. (They were able to hang around each others houses now, with Daiki and Satsuki both out of the houses.) 

He had relented to Iwaizumi’s point and had decided he would continue to deal with and help his classmates as they came to him, now matter how annoyed it made him at times. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting to class, Shittykawa?” Iwaizumi asked, coming up behind Oikawa.

“Spell Class is having a hands on exam today.” Oikawa answered, “I have a free period instead.”

Iwaizumi grunted in acknowledgement, putting an absent hand on Oikawa’s shoulder for a moment in brief comfort before removing it just as quickly. Oikawa smiled slightly at his best friend’s show of support, Iwaizumi always seemed to get that Oikawa getting kicked out of classes sometimes really hurt him. “Alright well, I gotta get to potions class, see you after.”

“Don’t explode anything!” Oikawa called after his best friend. 

He laughed as Iwaizumi threw a middle finger over his shoulder and shouted, “That was  _ one time _ Shittykawa!”

~~~

Oikawa’s fingers grazed over the books in the school library as he searched for any titles he hadn’t read yet. 

“How did I know I’d find you here?” Iwaizumi asked from behind him, voice sounding unusually irritated.

Oikawa hummed non committedly and joked, “Cause I’m always here?”

“Tch,” Oikawa’s eyebrows furrowed, noting that Iwaizumi sounded different than he had before his last class. Turning, he found Iwaizumi flipping through the pages of a book lazily as he leaned against a table.

“Is something wrong, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, concerned.

Iwaizumi snapped the book closed and pushed himself off that table. “Why do you do this?”

“What?”

“Why. Do. You do this?” Iwaizumi repeated his question, motioning to the books around. “Why do you act like this is going to help you?” 

“I… I don’t-?”

“You’re never gonna get on the council, so why do you even try anymore?”

Oikawa’s breath caught in his throat.  _ Iwa-chan would never say something like that. Something happened. He’d never say that… he… he believes in me! … Right? _

“Iwa-chan… what-what happened?” Oikawa questioned quietly, trying to piece together what information he had. Trying to recognize the person he was talking to with his best friend.

“Nothing,” Iwaizumi said, “I’m just tired of pretending for you. I’m tired of pretending your not useless, Shittykawa.” 

Oikawa flinches at the nickname, filled with actual venom for the first time since Iwaizumi had given it to him.

‘I… I’m not…” Oikawa choked out.

Iwaizumi shrugged, “Maybe not at everything, but at what you want. You want to be part of a world that you aren’t a part of. How stupid are you? How stupid are you that you’re wasting your whole life trying to do something you’ll never be able to do.”

“Iwa… you don’t… you  _ don’t _ mean that!” Oikawa denied, tears beginning to fall.

BUt I do,” Iwaizumi sighed, “I do mean it, and I’ve thought it for a long time. I just stayed friends with you out of pity, cause you just wouldn’t admit it to yourself and there is nothing sadder than someone who can’t accept their fate.”

Oikawa wanted to deny it, wanted to keep believing that Iwaizumi didn’t mean any of it, but he was hurting too much to think clearly anymore. He lashed out. “Shut up! You’re the idiot, you dumb dragon!”

“Well, at least I’m not defective.”

The words aren’t shouted, they aren’t said with any heat behind them, nor venom. They’re stated matter of factly, like Iwaizumi is just stating a fact of life and not breaking the delicate foundation that he himself had helped Oikawa make since he was 10.

Somehow that made it hurt worse. 

Everything was too much and Oikawa couldn’t look at Iwaizumi anymore, couldn’t look at his best friend now that he knew Iwaizumi hated him, had only pretended to care about him for  _ years _ when Oikawa had loved him for so long.

He turned tail and ran out of the library, tears beginning to fall; leaving Iwaizumi to stare impassively back at him.

~~~

Night had fallen quicker than Oikawa thought it would, and he found himself perched in a tree in the woods long after dark. Oikawa ran his hands over grooves carved into the wood three years prior, when he and Iwaizumi had first discovered the ancient oak tree stretching high up into the sky.

_ Iwaizumi Hajime + Oikawa Tooru _

He wiped at his face again, though his tears had long ago dried up, leaving only red track marks on his cheeks. Oikawa sighed and leapt down from the tree, knowing he had to be getting home.

He’d already stayed out later than he was supposed to, with the curfew being ordered by the police department. HIs parents would kill him if they were home, but they were in the inner parts of the capitol for council business, as well as to visit Satsuki and her son Takeru. 

The Iwaizumis were supposed to be watching him, making sure he was safe until the police caught whoever had been out kidnapping people in recent weeks. Oikawa didn’t see them checking up on him.

Oikawa began the trek back to his house, having memorized it after many trips to the tree with Iwaizumi. 

There was a thud and Oikawa paused, his insides freezing up and panic overtaking him all of a sudden. He shouldn’t have gone out there. He’d just been so emotionally charged and the tree was a grounding presence. He shouldn’t have stayed out so late, he knew that, not with people  _ going missing _ . But he hadn’t wanted to risk running into Iwaizumi.

Oikawa gulped and slowly turned towards the noise. There was a whimper and Oikawa slowly began to move towards the noise, coming upon a small clearing, one he recognized from late nights stargazing with Iwaizumi.

Oikawa shook away the thought, it was unimportant and only hurt.

A figure lay on its side in the middle of the clearing, chest visibly heaving up and down. Hesitantly Oikawa made his way closer, noticing that it was a wolf - a were judging by the size.

“Hello,” He called out quietly, and the wolf’s head whirled around quickly, growling low in its throat before stopping when it noticed Oikawa.

Oikawa would have been offended at being dismissed as a threat, if it weren’t for the fact that at that moment the moon broke through the clouds covering the night sky and provided enough light to take a closer look at the wolf. It had blond fur and honey brown eyes that glinted dangerously even when it seemed not as on edge as a moment before.

“Mad Dog-chan?” Oikawa asked, recognizing his classmate and friend’s wolf form.

The wolf huffed in what Oikawa assumed was confirmation and Oikawa relaxed, approaching the wolf. “What are you doing -?”

That’s when he saw the blood. It stained Kyoutani’s fur, and leaked to the ground. Oikawa let out a yelp of alarm and dropped to his knees, hands hovering over where the blood was as he searched for a wound. 

He glanced at Kyoutani for permission and, after a pause, got a small nod. Oikawa planted his hands carefully in the soft fur and began to sift through it, finally locating what looked like a bullet wound.

Oikawa thought back to when he was in the tree, he hadn’t heard anything, but the person who hurt Kyoutani could have used a silencing spell. Oikawa glanced around the clearing, suddenly realizing that the people who had shot Kyoutani - probably the kidnappers - were probably out in the woods hunting for Kyoutani right now.

“Mad Dog-chan,” Oikawa whispered, bringing the wolf’s hazing gaze back to him. “Are they still out there? Are they looking for you?”

Kyoutani growled and Oikawa took that as a yes. 

He took a deep breath. “Okay… Okay, um, we need to move. I’ll take you to my house, do you think you can move?”

Kyoutani huffed and Oikawa backed off as he tried to stand. Kyoutani shakily got to his feet, collapsing at first before managing to get back up and limp towards Oikawa. 

“Okay,” Oikawa mumbled, he already knew that Kyoutani wouldn’t be able to last long and he moved to be on the side Kyoutani’s wound was on and pressed a hand against it. Kyoutani whimpered in pain before growling and glaring at Oikawa. “I need to put pressure on it as best I can. If you pass out I can’t carry you Mad Do-chan! You’re not exactly a light wolf!”

Kyoutani huffed, but didn’t do anything more, instead making a motion with his head Oikawa took to mean ‘lead the way.’

And he did, trying to be as quiet as possible, knowing there were people out there looking for Kyoutani, wanting to hurt him.

“ ** _Ecnelis_** , **_emoh yawetag_** , **_laeh_** ,” Oikawa mumbled under his breath. Kyoutani nudged his side with his nose and titled his head in curiosity when Oikawa looked down. “Sorry Mad Dog-chan,” Oikawa grinned sheepishly, “Nervous habit. If I could just… use those spells we’d be able to get out of here a lot easier.”

Kyoutani made a noise somewhere between a huff and a growl, eyes flashing in irritation. Oikawa knew his friends weren't big fans of when he talked down about himself for not being able to do magic.

Oikawa wondered how much of that was them being irritated by him. 

Oikawa did his best to tamp down on the habit, not only because of Kyoutani’s irritation and because it wouldn’t help, but also because he realized any sound, no matter how small, might lead the kidnappers right to them.

It didn’t matter.

They had made it maybe halfway to Oikawa’s house when two figures emerged from the darkness in front of them. Oikawa cursed and whirled around, only to find two more behind them. He didn’t need to look to know that their sides would be the same.

Oikawa pressed closer to Kyoutani nervously. “What do you want?”

“The wolf,” A voice from one of the two originally in front of Oikawa said. He didn’t turn, knowing Kyoutani was facing them and that they should keep an eye on as many of the people as possible. 

“Why?” Oikawa asked.

“Magic,” That voice was from one of the people Oikawa faced this time. “We want his magic.”

Oikawa’s fists clenched as an idea came to his mind. He was terrified, but now that he knew what the kidnappers wanted, he was now terrified for Kyoutani. And he knew how to get him out. If everything went to plan, then Oikawa would be able to get out too.

“How about a deal,” He spoke more confidently than he felt.

“Deal?” There was a hint of curiosity in the voice coming from where Kyoutani faced.

Kyoutani growled, clearly wondering what Oikawa was planning.

“My parents, they’re Councilwoman Anzu and Councilman Gota. They’re mages.” he stated and added quickly, “Powerful mages,” because that was the important part.

Kyoutani growled low in his throat and pushed up against Oikawa, clearly realizing what Oikawa was getting at. And not liking it.

“I’m a mage.” Oikawa lied, “My magic is much more powerful than what Kyoutani uses to transform. So, take me instead. Let Kyoutani go, and take me.”

The figures in front of him shifted and there was silence for a good five minutes.  **_Dnim kaeps_ ** , Oikawa’s brain immediately supplied. So they were mages too then. He just hoped they didn’t know about him being defective.

“We accept.” The voice came from in front of Kyoutani who snarled and leapt forward. Oikawa wondered how he still had the strength to do that.

**_“Eziliuqnart!_ ** ” someone shouted and Oikawa heard Kyoutani fall to the ground, wincing at the sound.

“ **_Rebmuls._ ** ”

A haze entered Oikawa’s mind and he tried to stay awake for as long as he could, crashing to his hands and knees before the spell overcame him and he crumbled into darkness.

~~~

Iwaizumi’s head pounded and he almost regretted coming into school, but he had to find Oikawa, he had to apologize. After potions class a classmate of his had asked him to try a potion they’d made and, thinking it couldn’t be anything dangerous, Iwaizumi had agreed.

He so regretted it now. Everything was hazy, but he remembered feeling uncharacteristically angry, and remembered flashes, words.

Oikawa.  _ “You’re never gonna get on the council, so why do you even try anymore?”  _ Instincts, screaming at him to  **stop, you’re hurting him. Protect!** But whatever that potion was, it had managed to override the instincts of a dragon. And that terrified Iwaizumi.

He was going to track down his classmate later, but first he had to find Oikawa. FIrst he had to fix what he had broken.

Oikawa hadn’t been at his house that morning when Iwaizumi had stopped by, so he was hoping to catch Oikawa before classes started.

“Iwaizumi!”

Iwaizumi looked up from the ground and saw Kyoutani making his way towards him at a fast pace that wasn’t quite a jog. Iwaizumi sniffed the air as Kyoutani approached, picking up the scent of copper and magic - sweet and thick. Sometimes, Iwaizumi was glad Oikawa had never gotten magic, if only because of how strong the scent of magic was.

“What’s up?” Iwaizumi asked, hoping to get the conversation over with so he could go back to looking for Oikawa.

“Where have you been?” Annoyance dripped in Kyoutani’s voice, though that was nothing new. 

“Um, here?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

Kyoutani grumbled something under his breath and then grabbed Iwaizumi’s bicep, dragging him into a corner further away from the mass of students spilling into the school.

“What is it?” Iwaizumi asked, trying to keep his gaze on said crowd before Kyoutani got in his face.

“It’s about Oikawa.”

Iwaizumi’s attention was immediately laser focused on Kyoutani. “What? Did something happen?”

Kyoutani sighed in irritation. “He was in the woods last night. So was I. I got hurt, he showed up… the kidnappers took him.”

Iwaizumi’s blood froze in his veins. And then it boiled over. Kyoutani quickly took his hand away from Iwaizumi and he knew his Core was heating up and making his skin like fire in reaction to his anger and instincts. 

“What?” His voice was more growl than anything else.

“Apparently, they’ve been after magic. And  _ someone _ thought it would be a good idea to claim he had magic.” Kyoutani supplied. 

Iwaizumi let out a sigh of irritation. “Right, of course Shittykawa did that. Come on.”

Iwaizumi started to leave the school grounds, Kyoutani following after him.

“Where are we going?” Kyoutani asked.

“Take me to where you last saw Tooru.” Iwaizumi demanded. “We’re going to get him back."


	3. The Last Of A Dying Breed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from The Last of The Real Ones by Fall Out Boy.

Oikawa groaned, his head lolling to the side. His eyes opened to dim light and he tugged experimentally at the chains holding his arms above his head. Pain ricocheted through his wrists and he let out a pained hiss.

“You’re awake.” 

His gaze moved towards the voice and he found a woman standing in front of him.

“You’ve been out for a day,” she continued. “It’s put quite a delay on things.”

“Delay on what?” Oikawa asked.

“Our Lord’s resurrection.” She responded immediately. “You know, for someone who’s magic reserves are so powerful, you don’t recover from magic very fast.”

Oikawa blinked. He wasn’t shocked to find out magic lasted on him longer, it often did on people without magic or Belluic decent. But the end of her statement… “Magic reserves?” He muttered.

The woman nodded. “Oh yes, the most powerful we’ve ever seen. It’s like an endless well. You, my dear, are the last piece we need to bring back our Lord.”

Oikawa’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who’s… your Lord?”

She smiled. “Why, Washijou Tanji.”

_ A dark god _ . Oikawa remembered immediately. He had never read much about the gods, most didn’t know if they were actual beings, or just a way for some to explain magic. 

Supposedly, the gods worked together to make the world in the beginning, humans, Belluic creatures, magic itself. But then they couldn’t agree on where to go from there. Some wanted to exploit the world they’d made, while others wanted to nurture it. The dark gods and the gods of light.

Oikawa wished he’d read more about the gods. Like what had, supposedly, happened to them? Why did one need resurrecting? And why was this cult taking people for magic in order to do so?

Well, he had an idea of the last one. Oikawa had read up on rituals before, some - the forbidden ones - physically drained the magic from someone, and left nothing left but a dry husk. To take someone’s magic, was to kill them. It was the life force of those with magic and Oikawa bet that these people were trying to bypass what the ritual was supposed to do to them by using others as sacrifice.

And Oikawa was one of them.

~~~

“We’ve been out here for hours,” Kyoutani said. “You’ve been out all night. Iwaizumi I don’t think we’re going to find him out here.”

Iwaizumi growled in warning as he continued forward, eyes roving over the surrounding forest. He knew Kyoutani didn’t want to admit it either, but the fact was still true. 

When they’d reached the place Kyoutani said Oikawa had been taken the only thing in the air had been the thick scent of magic, and Iwaizumi knew Kyoutani had smelled it too, from the way his nose wrinkled. Iwaizumi hadn’t been able to smell Oikawa’s scent at all, the one smell other than his family’s that he was most attuned to after years of being around it.

Some kind of spell must have been used to disperse any scents, he and Kyoutani had agreed. Since then, Iwaizumi had been looking through the forest for anything that could help him find Oikawa.

“Look, we need to call the cops.” Kyoutani said. “We can keep looking, but it’ll help to have more people involved. And the cops will take this seriously, they have to with who Oikawa’s parents are.”

Iwaizumi sighed in defeat. “Yeah, yeah that’s probably a good call. I’m gonna call Hanamaki and Matsukawa too, like you said. The more people the better.”

Kyoutani was silent, contemplating, for a minute before agreeing and stepping away to call the police.

Iwaizumi pulled out his own phone and plugged in Matsukawa’s number.

_ “Hey man, where have you and Oikawa been? We saw you at school yesterday but you never went to any of your classes.” _ Matsukawa answered.

“I need you to meet me and Kyoutani at my place. It’s important.”

_ “...yeah, sure. We’ll be there after school.” _

~~~

The woman had left not long after their conversation and Oikawa was left with his thoughts. 

Magic reserves.

It seemed to be the one thought Oikawa kept coming back to. How did he have magic reserves when he couldn’t use magic? He had researched and read every book he could find on mages, and there had never been any mention of mages who were born with magic reserves, but couldn’t use them. Only people born to mages, but without magic.

Oikawa tugged on the chains again, choosing to ignore the pain in his wrists. He had to get out of there before the cultists came back and started their ritual.

He tugged again and dropped his head, gritting his teeth and for the first time he noticed the chains on his feet too, which seemed a bit excessive.

Oikawa leaned his head further down, hoping to get a better look at the cuffs around his ankles and blinked in shock. He couldn’t quite see them well, but there were definitely runes engraved in the cuffs. If he had to bet what they were for, it was probably to nullify magic and stop people from using it.

Oikawa tugged on the chains again and sighed in frustration. This was getting him nowhere, he realized, and there were probably also runes on the cuffs to strengthen them and make them harder to break.

The door opened and Oikawa looked up as this time multiple people came into the room, wearing purple robes with hoods over their faces. They carried candles, chalk, a bowl and knives.

Dread filled Oikawa. They were about to start the ritual.

~~~

“Can this spell not go any faster?” Iwaizumi asked in irritation.

“Let him work. Tracking spells use a lot of concentration.” Matsukawa replied.

Iwaizumi scowled, but said nothing more. He knew he was being unfair and just needed to let Hanamaki work, but the longer they had no idea where Oikawa was, the more on edge Iwaizumi got. Anything could be happening.

It had already been three hours since he’d called Hanamaki and Matsukawa. The police had shown up not long after Kyoutani called, and had asked a few questions before beginning a search through the woods. Iwaizumi doubted they’d accomplish anything since they hadn’t with the last victims who were reported missing.

Hanamaki’s hands dropped from where they’d been in the air, the glow disappearing as he let out a noise of frustration. “Nothing is working! I’ve tried, like, twelve different tracking spells.”

“Are there any other spells you can think of to try? Anything more powerful?”

Hanamaki sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead in thought before looking over at Iwaizumi. “Well, there is one. But I’ll need a scale.”

“What? Why?” Iwaizumi questioned, wings drawing a bit closer. Dragon scales were precious, and weren’t to be given out for just anything.

“I need some kind of catalyst from the person closest to whoever the spell is tracking, in this case Oikawa.” Hanamaki explained. “Plus, the magic from your scale might be able to boost the power of the spell.”

Iwaizumi blushed. “Shouldn’t we get something from his parents though?”

Matsukawa gave Iwaizumi a deadpan look. “Please, Oikawa has been pining over you for years Iwaizumi. There’s no one he cares more about.”

Iwaizumi spluttered under his friends’ gazes and decided to save himself some dignity and brought one of his wings forward to remove a scale, wincing slightly in pain. He tossed the scale to Hanamaki. 

“This better work.” He grumbled.

Hanamaki nodded. “You’re right. Because if it doesn’t, we’re never going to find Oikawa.”

~~~

They had been chanting for about 5 minutes now, in some ancient language Oikawa could almost recognize and translate, but his mind was fogging up and it was becoming harder to focus. A side effect of being drained no doubt.

Spots danced in his vision and Oikawa struggled to keep his eyes open, he had no idea what would happen if he passed out.

_ “Tooru” _

~~~

“I got it!”

~~~

White.

Oikawa looked around but all that was surrounding him was a sea of white.

_ “Hello, Tooru.” _

Oikawa turned quickly, and found himself faced with an aging man who had dark hair and gray-bordering-on-black eyes.

“Who…?” Oikawa trailed off.

The ritual.

Did that mean…

“Washijou Tanji?” Oikawa guessed, fear slightly showing in his voice as he took a small step back. Not that it would do any good against a god.

The man scowled.  _ “Don’t speak his name. No, I am not Washijou.” _

“Then…?”

The man sighed.  _ “Mortals have no respect these last few ages. Irihata Nobuteru.” _

Oikawa gapped. “You… you’re a god of light?”

Irihata barked a laugh.  _ “Yes, I suppose none of us look very godly in vessels.” _

Oikawa’s eyebrows furrowed. “Vessel?” He’d never heard of that, not in any of the books he’d read.

Irihata sighed.  _ “We really need to make them common knowledge,” _ he grumbled.  _ “Yes, a vessel. It’s what you are.” _

“I don’t… what?” Oikawa was trying very hard not to look like a complete idiot in front of a god, but it seemed like a lost cause.

_ “Vessels are magical beings created for the express purpose of being the host of a god, light or dark. They have magic that they cannot access without the assistance of a higher power simply because it is too great for them to handle alone.” _ Irihata explained.

Oikawa blinked. The words ‘broken’ and ‘magic reserves’ popping into his head. “So, I’m…”

Irihata nodded,  _ “Yes, you are.” _

Oikawa’s eyes narrowed and he turned his head to the ground, eyes darting around and examining the white below his feet as he thought. One would think that something as important as vessels capable of housing  _ gods _ would be common knowledge, so why wasn’t it.

But that wasn’t the most important thing. From the way Irihata was talking, it sounded as if gods needed to find one such vessel in order to walk on the plane of mortals, meaning that if the cult managed to summon Washijou, the dark god would have access to a vessel immediately. What kind of chaos could he cause once he was loose?

_ “Exactly,” _ Irihata said and Oikawa looked up in shock. Apparently gods can read minds.  _ “Which is why we need to stop him from gaining access to you when he reaches this world.” _

“And how do we do that?” Oikawa asked suspiciously.

_ “You have to take me inside you.” _

Oikawa blanched. “WHAT?”

_ “No! You have to become my new vessel,” _ Irihata snapped.  _ “If you already have a god occupying you as a vessel, Washijou cannot take your body.” _

“You could have said it like that to begin with.” Oikawa hissed, then deflated. “Would this be a permanent thing?”

Irihata nodded.

Oikawa bit his lip, wrapping his arms around himself. On one hand, he didn’t think he wanted to spend the rest of his life trapped in his head while a god sat in the driver’s seat of his body. On the other, he’d be doing that either way if he didn’t accept Irihata’s offer.

His mind flashed to Iwaizumi.  _ No _ , Oikawa thought firmly,  _ he doesn’t care. _

_ “It was a potion.” _ Oikawa looked up in confusion.  _ “Your friend, that was a potion talking the other day, not him.” _

Something lifted off of Oikawa’s chest. He  _ knew _ Iwaizumi had been acting weird! 

“You’re not doing a very good job convincing me to give up my body,” Oikawa pointed out.

Irihata sighed,  _ “I wouldn’t be taking over.” _ He explained,  _ “It would be more like we share a mind. I’d stay at the back for the most part, give you room and let you live your life, but I’d take control when need be. And we’d be able to use magic no matter which one of us was in control.” _

That didn’t seem so bad.

The space shook, and Oikawa brought his arms out to keep his balance, looking around frantically.

_ “He’s coming,” _ Irihata spoke calmly, though his fists clenched.  _ “Do you accept or not, Tooru?” _

Oikawa looked at the god and nodded. “Deal.”

~~~

Iwaizumi clawed at anyone who got in his way as he made his way towards Oikawa’s unconscious, chained body.

They’d arrived minutes earlier, with the police following behind after being notified that they’d managed to get a tracking spell on Oikawa. Almost immediately a raid of the ancient ruins they’d stumbled upon had begun.

Iwaizumi finally reached Oikawa, anger flooding him as he took note of just how weak his best friend looked. He was going to  _ murder _ these people as soon as he knew Oikawa was alright.

Iwaizumi channeled his Core and blew a soft stream of flames, weakening the cuffs enough that he could finish breaking them with his claws. He caught Oikawa as he began to fall.

“Tooru,” He murmured softly, placing a hand on Oikawa’s cheek, looking for any kind of movement. He had a pulse, thank the gods, but he wasn’t waking up.

Iwaizumi growled, his instincts fighting themselves. One part of him wanted to stay, to  _ protect _ and the other part wanted to burn, to destroy, to kill.

Iwaizumi looked over at the few cultists who still chanted Latin, and the second urge won out. Iwaizumi carefully placed Oikawa down, and began stalking towards them. He could feel scales begin to emerge from under his skin, but didn’t let himself shift fully into dragon form, he would risk bringing down what still stood of the ruins and burying everyone in it.

He yanked one of them away from the others and tore at their throat, blood soaked his claws as they went silent and fell to the ground. 

“Iwaizumi!” Someone yelled, Kyoutani he thinks. A hand was placed down on him, pulling him away from his prey and Iwaizumi snarled, turning with his teeth bared and a wild look in his eyes.

Kyoutani stared at him, eyes slightly wide, though he stood tall and appeared non threatened.

**_“Renni ecaep”_ **

The spell washed over Iwaizumi, and a haze he hadn’t realized was there removed itself form his mind. His claws became less sharp and the scales sank down again. He’d almost lost control. “Thanks,” he grumbled, looking down at his still bloody fingers. Had he really just… killed someone?

Iwaizumi looked up, and noticed the police had restrained all the cultists but the one he had killed. They were all gagged, but the gleeful looks on some told Iwaizumi that whatever they had done was completed. The police eyed him warily, but Matsukawa stood defensively between them.

The ground rumbled suddenly, and Iwaizumi looked down in alarm, noticing the cracks forming in the center of where the cultist circle used to be. Black smoke came pouring out and took the shape of a man.

Instincts told Iwaizumi this was not good, and his hackles began to rise again. He glanced at Kyoutani, Hanamaki who appeared to feel the same. Kyoutani looked ready to shift at a moment's notice and Iwaizumi could practically see the spells running through Hanamaki’s brain.

Iwaizumi needed to get back to Oikawa.

_ “I sense a vessel…” _ The shadow figure hissed.

_ “It’s taken,” _ The voice caused Iwaizumi’s head to snap towards where he had left Oikawa. The boy stood tall now, posture relaxed but gaze hard. His eyes were teal and something ancient rang in his voice. This wasn’t Oikawa.

_ “Irihata,” _ The shadow growled.

Irihata smirked.  _ “Hello Washijou, I suggest you leave.” _

Washijou was silent before he spoke again.  _ “I’m free. You can’t stop what’s coming.” _

_ “We’ll see.” _

Washijou’s shadowy body seemed to disperse and Iwaizumi watched as the teal faded from Oikawa’s eyes and he began to collapse. Immideately Iwaizumi rushed over to his side and caught him, pulling Oikawa close to his chest.

“Tooru, what the hell was that?” He demanded softly.

Oikawa let out a breathy laugh, “It’s a long story, Iwa-chan.” He looked up. “I’m glad you’re okay,” 

Iwaizumi scowled, “I should be saying that. Listen, about the other day,”

Oikawa shook his head. “I know, Iwa-chan. It’s okay.”

Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa for a long moment.  _ Do it. Do it now. Before something else happens. _ His mind hissed at him.

Iwaizumi leaned down and kissed Oikawa.

Oikawa froze.  _ “For the love of - just kiss him back! If I have to deal with a forever pining vessel AGAIN I will kill myself.” _ Irihata’s voice came from the back of Oikawa’s mind. That was going to be a pain.

Oikawa decided to ignore the problem for now and kissed back.

When the two broke away, panting, it was to a low whistle.

Iwaizumi glared at Hanamaki and Matsukawa who both had shit eating grins on their faces. Kyoutani just looked away, face flushed.

“Took you two long enough.” Hanamaki teased.

Oikawa squawked and threw a piece of rubble at them. “Shut up!”

They laughed and walked away, Kyoutani following. 

“I love you, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi muttered into Oikawa’s hair when they were alone.

Oikawa smiled. “Love you too, Iwa-chan.”

~~~

Oikawa looked down at his sleeping boyfriend and best friends who had all insisted on staying the night. A protective dragon, wolf, mage and mage’s familiar were going to be enough to deter anyone, even without Oikawa’s new resident god.

Oikawa closed his eyes and when he opened them, found himself in the same white eternity as before. He turned around and saw Irihata. 

“So, what happens now?” He asked. 

Irihata looked at him with a serious expression.  _ “Now? We prepare.” _

Oikawa’s eyebrows furrowed. “For what?”

_ “For war.” _

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realize I'd given Oikawa and Hajime's siblings the names of two childhood best friends in Kuroko No Basuke until after I finished the chapter XD. I guess it's fate.


End file.
